ALLENSPARK • Directly off the highway Colorado 7, amid the winding roads and vast mountain wilderness, sits a chapel in a meadow.
Emerging from a rock formation, the stone church blends with the earth — an architectural feat surrounded by a creek and sea of pines.
Within the chapel are wooden pews, a golden tabernacle and large crucifix. The smell of incense lingers in the sacred space.
Tall stands the iconic Chapel on the Rock, a picturesque stone cathedral that sits at the base of Mount Meeker, bordering Rocky Mountain National Park. Built about 90 years ago, this Colorado landmark is part of the larger Camp St. Malo campus, and has attracted believers and nonbelievers alike.
The grounds of the site, about 150 miles northwest of Colorado Springs, blend history, spirituality and nature to create a unique sense of place.
“This is one of the most beautiful properties that I’ve ever experienced. It has such a diversity from an ecological standpoint, and then it has such a power here, spiritually,” said Nathan Glassman, the executive director of Camp St. Malo and adjacent retreat Annunciation Heights.